Monday, April 25, 2011

A Double Shot Of IPO - Chicago: Part One

Poster from Ellis Clark's Facebool page.

The Material re-Issue performance at The Abbey Pub on the final evening of International Pop Overthrow - Chicago 2011 definitely lived up to all the publicity that preceded it. The SRO crowd at The Abbey Pub roared with approval at the end of the opening number, “Valerie Loves Me,” blowing away any doubts that singer-guitarist Phil Angotti would be embraced for bringing the songs of Jim Ellison back to the stage again. Introducing the trio of Angotti and original members Ted Ansani and Mike Zelenko, International Pop Overthrow honcho David Bash had exuberantly proclaimed, “Jim Ellison, this one’s for you!”

About 24 hours earlier, Angotti had been part of an IPO - Chicago showcase at The Abbey that drew a much smaller crowd, but still underscored the sense of community this annual festival tends to foster. Friday night’s opening set was by guitarists Tom Curless and Brian Krumm of Your Gracious Host, who played tuneful indie rock songs like “Surrender Me” and “The Sunrise Nearly Killed Me.” Your Gracious Host’s newest CD, Sleepers Awaken, was available at the merchandise table.

Angotti came on next, performing the bulk of his latest solo effort, People And Places. Well-crafted songs like “Broken Baby Doll House,” “Same Ol’ We,” and “Whatever Happened To. . .” came off well in the live setting, and “My Old Records” featured a guest appearance by Brad Elvis on drums. Tommi Zender, who played drums throughout most of the set, also took a few turns on guitar, and provided harmony vocals. Kevin Junior, who was due up next, joined Angotti on harmony vocals while covering a vintage Kinks song. Keyboards player-vocalist Carolyn Engelmann was also impressive, and would become a familiar face throughout the night by performing on Kevin Junior and Ellis Clark’s sets as well. Angotti dedicated the touching “Parting For Awhile” to the late Carlos Hernandez Gomez, an acclaimed reporter as well as a Beatles fanatic.

Kevin Junior, best known for his symphonic pop music with the acclaimed Chicago band The Chamber Strings, performed a set of melodic songs from his Ruins CD, backed by Lou Hallwas of Penthouse Sweets on keyboards, Angotti on guitar, and Engelmann on keyboards and backup vocals. Junior and Angotti harmonized beautifully on several songs, and toward the end of the set, guest musicians Brad Elvis and Ellis Clark came on board. Junior announced that The Chamber Strings will be playing their first live gig in two years at The Hideout on May 19th.

Ellis Clark and Epicycle came on next, with Engelmann on keyboards, Charlie (sorry, I didn’t catch his last name) from Phil Angotti’s band on bass, and Brad Elvis on drums. As David Bash pointed out during his introduction, singer-guitarist-keyboards player Clark has explored numerous types of music throughout his career, always with wit and imagination. Friday night’s show included catchy songs like “Strange Days,” “Big Day,” and the satiric “I’m So Cool.” The set included new songs like “The Lucky Ones” and (I’m guessing on the title) “Hand Of Love.”

Brothers Jonathan and Robert Scott of Doleful Lions unleashed sheets of shimmering sound via their guitars and pre-recorded synth beats. Their songs, like the title track of their latest CD, Let’s Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison, recalled the UK shoegazer music of the 1990s.

Penthouse Sweets were minus bassist Eric Chial for their IPO - Chicago gig, and aside from the occasional odd comment like vocalist-guitarist Andy Hansen telling guitarist-vocalist Lou Hallwas, “You looked like Adolph Hitler for a minute there,” the musicians didn’t joke around as much as in past shows. Still, it’s always fun to take in the band’s freewheeling brand of melodic pop. New songs like “Dark Eyes” and a cover of The Who’s “Pictures Of Lily” were particularly strong, and Penthouse Sweets wrapped up the evening with a rollicking version of The Replacements’ “I.O.U.”

Members of Penthouse Sweets showed up at The Abbey Pub long before they were due to go on, and Curless and Krumm from Your Gracious Host hung out long after their opening set was over. It’s inspiring how much the bands involved with International Pop Overthrow support each other. Mike Galassini from 92 Degrees and The Valley Downs was also hanging out, as was Chloe F. Orwell, Brad Elvis’s partner in crime from The Handcuffs. Phil Angotti pretty much spent the entire evening at Friday’s showcase, and I had a chance to ask if he was nervous about the Material re-Issue gig coming on the following night. He said he felt a little nervous, but strongly believed he, Ansani, and Zelenko were ready.

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Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.